Alabama Sales Tax Holiday is Aug. 1-3

Date: July 14, 2014

The upcoming sales-tax holiday on clothing, computers, school supplies and books will be a big help to stores struggling in the sluggish economy, said Rosemary Elebash, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business.

“This is exactly what small businesses need right now,” Elebash said.

“The sales-tax holiday puts people in the mood to shop, and we’re hoping they buy at least some of their school clothes and supplies at small, locally-owned businesses," she said. NFIB/Alabama is the state's leading small-business association, with 7,000 dues-paying members representing a cross section of the economy.

“We think it's important for people to shop small and shop local, because when hen you shop at small, locally-owned businesses, you’re helping your friends and neighbors,” Elebash said. “You’re supporting the businesses that support our schools and charities and create jobs in our communities.

The latest NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, released July 8, shows that small-business confidence lost momentum in June, with 13 percent of small-business owners surveyed reporting “poor sales” as their single greatest concern, behind taxes (22 percent) and government regulations (20 percent).

“Combined with the back-to-school sales a lot of stores are having, the sales-tax holiday is going to help people get a bigger bang for their buck," Elebash said. “The more we can do to encourage people to shop at small businesses, the more jobs we'll save, and the faster our economy will grow.”